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« on: June 03, 2012, 11:35:07 AM »
So here it is at long last! I DO at least have the prologue completed, and while I'm currently working on hammering out the kinks in chapter 1, this IS officially the start of my follow up to The Past That Yawns Behind and what I plan to eventually become a three part series. This is a rather dark opening, and the story's title will also somewhat convey what we can be expecting as well. So hope everyone enjoys, and I just may have the first chapter up tonight as well if I can get to it.
Prologue: A Cold Serving
The words running through Rinkus's mind at this point in time were "freezing", "chill", "numbing." Never before had he experienced cold like this. His feet crunched in the frozen turf, snow blanketing the countryside as far as his eyes could see. Shivering, he rubbed his hands together, his breath shooting out like wreaths of smoke. "C-c-can't we turn back?" he asked, teeth chattering.
"You afraid of a little cold?" the question came mockingly from a domehead standing ahead of him. He carried a sharp looking chunk of rock at his side, which made for a convenient weapon out here in the wilderness.
"Well... yes." Rinkus said, nodding.
"Ha! Then maybe you should've thought of that before trying to steal from us, eh?" The domehead asked sarcastically.
"I dunno Royce... we've never gone this far before, and there doesn't seem too much chance of finding ANY food." this came from a nodosaurus who was lumbering beside Rinkus. The oldest in the group, he bent his head low to sniff the ground.
"Food's always around, Tyr! You just have to look in the right spot." Royce narrowed his eyes and clenched a fist. "Besides... this little thief ate our stock, remember?" he waved the dagger like rock in Rinkus's direction. That part was true at least. Rinkus had been starving, and had pilfered from the first herd he'd come across... but unfortunately they had caught him, and here he was.
"I know but... surely you've been hearing the rumors... right Royce?" Tyr asked cryptically. "They say there's a new band of sharpteeth out here... and they don't stop for nothin'. They aren't like other sharpteeth. They work together. They're almost like... a unit, you know?"
Royce snorted. "Oh come on! Rumors are rumors! You believe everything your grandma tells you you're gonna start prematurely aging! Buck up!"
Rinkus shivered again. Sharpteeth? Out here? He looked around him cautiously. How did he wind up in this mess? All he'd wanted was some food... but when this particular herd had caught him in the act of feeding off the most luscious greens he could find for miles (which had unfortunately belonged to them), they'd made him an offer. Go out on their foraging party, or take a permanent dirt nap. Rinkus, valuing his hide, had agreed, and the only reason he hadn't taken to the sky now was because Royce had been thoughtful enough to give him a demonstration of his throwing skills... namely how he could throw sharp pointy rocks at rapidly moving objects. It had convinced the flyer that he was stuck, at least for now. But sharpteeth?
"I don't like sharpteeth." Rinkus spoke up.
"Yeah? Well I've killed more than I can count. They aren't so bad... you just have to know how to handle 'em. You thinkin' of... backing out, are you?" Royce asked in a threatening tone, fixing Rinkus with one of his eyes as he flexed his fingers.
Rinkus could only gulp and shake his head. "Good." Royce said with a nod. "Because you think of taking even so much as one step in the opposite direction, I'll gut you and leave you to freeze or bleed out! No one turns their back on our herd!" the domehead shouted angrily. Rinkus only nodded. "No one gets away with stealing, either!"
"Yes! Yes! Of course!" the pink flyer said in a squeaky voice, raising his hands reassuringly in front of himself.
"Just stay with him, Tyr. He so much as flexes his wings, knock him on the head!" Royce ordered the nodosaurus, who smiled.
Walking further on, they came to the edge of a wood, which stretched far beyond either side of them. It had been visible for some time in the distance, and they'd slowly trudged toward it through the thick snow. "Never been in here before. What do you think, Tyr?" Royce asked his companion.
"Hmm... maybe. If there IS anything it'd be underground. We should be looking for a cave or something of the sort. Don't know for certain until we find it. Trees at least will have needles on 'em. They aren't the most delectable thing, but they're better than nothing."
Royce nodded, and motioned for them to follow. Rinkus took big steps, trying to tiptoe, as something out here was giving him the creeps. The woods were dark, and blocked out the Bright Circle, which was hiding more often than not behind thick clouds. The very trees themselves harbored dark shadows, and seemed to close in on them from all sides.
A sudden movement ahead caught Royce's eye. "Someone there?" He called out, holding his rock at the ready. "Watch Rinkus, Tyr!" Royce commanded, and strode boldly forward. "I ask again... someone there?" the domehead challenged.
"I don't like this, I don't like this..." Rinkus mumbled to himself over and over again. He wasn't just shivering from the cold now. Something was... off about this place.
As Royce crested a small hill, his feet pushing snow out in front of him, his vision came to rest upon a fast biter, chewing and gnawing on something in the snow. Royce grinned, and began stealthily approaching it from behind. Didn't see many out here... but Royce was ready all the same.
The fast biter seemed to sense his approach, and turned around, its head whipping about as it roared... but too late! Royce was swift, and buried his "dagger" deep into the fast biter's neck, causing it yelp out in pain as it stumbled backward. "And again!" Royce yelled, pulling back and thrusting forth, stabbing the sharptooth in the gut now. "Down you go!" he crowed, standing over his fallen foe triumphantly.
It turned out this wasn't the only one however. Another suddenly jumped out of the darkness, shrieking. Royce squared his body opposite his opponent as the first fast biter flopped on the ground, dying. "Oh... you brought a friend did you? Come on!" he snarled, and began hopping from one foot to the other as the fast biter charged forward. By this time, Tyr and Rinkus had crested the slope as well, the two watching the combat from afar. "Heheh, oh you don't mess with Royce, boy. He's killed more sharpteeth than I have toes!" Tyr exclaimed.
Second before the sharptooth bit for Royce's neck, the domehead nimbly stepped aside and kicked the the fast biter in the flank, sending it tumbling to the ground in a heap. Rinkus briefly glanced in Tyr's direction, but to his dismay, he could see that Tyr was only half watching the fight, and was still keeping an eye on him. But wait! What was that? Turning his head rapidly from right to left, the pink flyer almost thought he saw... but yes! He did! Shadows... shadows that seemed to blend and meld right into the snow... they were moving amongst the trees, silent and black. Rinkus squinted, trying to get a better view, but it was hopeless from this angle. He could see nothing substantial.
Royce seemed unaware of them as he delivered a powerful headbutt into the fast biter, the hapless sharptooth colliding with a tree as it was thrown back. It roared out in defiance, only to have Royce land right on top of it, his weapon stabbing deep into its side as he did so. Screaming with rage, the fast biter tried to claw back, but Royce simply walked on top of the sharptooth's body, hopped off the other side, and delivered another headbutt to it, directly onto the fast biter's cranium. The sharptooth sighed, and went limp.
"Ha! Pathetic! Not even scratched!" he shouted over to Tyr and Rinkus. "That's how you dispose of a sharptooth! And you were worried!" Rinkus's eyes suddenly widened as Tyr cried out a warning to his confident comrade. Another fast biter emerged from the shadows, but this one was different from the previous two. Its scales were solid black, like coal, and seemed to reflect the white in the snow as it strode forward. It was larger than the average fast biter, and red streaks marked its body, as if it had been ripped at numerous times with claws... though these marks were indeed scales. It snarled at Royce, who turned around, briefly caught off guard.
"Huh... another one?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "Very well... you're about to meet Royce the Ripper!" he yelled, squaring off once again opposite his latest challenge. The fast biter made no sound in reply, and instead charged, making a beeline for the domehead. Royce let out a yell, and spun at the last minute, using his tried and true dodge method, but this fast biter turned with him, its teeth flashing as it snapped away, Royce just barely avoiding the blow. Royce brought his weapon in for the attack... only to meet solid claws head on as the raptor managed to parry the blow.
Panting, Royce lunged again and again, his nimble body easily able to keep up with the sharptooth, but every time his blows were turned aside. While the sharptooth remained agile on his feet, Royce seemed to be tiring slightly. "You think you're impressive?" Royce snapped. "I've killed many of your kind! You're just another stupid sharptooth! Come on!" he twisted and turned, jabbing right, left, up, down, and side to side, but his attacks were met each time by the fast biter's claws, which never once faltered, and indeed, the black scaled brute almost resembled a boxer as he bobbed and weaved in time to his attacker's movements. Royce went for a headbutt here and there, but each time he connected with naught but air.
Backing off a little to rest, Royce was breathing heavy now, and though he had not yet been injured, he had not landed a single blow on his opponent. Spitting into the snow, the domehead wiped his mouth. "All right you overgrown sack of teeth. You think you're bad? You ain't seen nothing yet!" Royce crouched, and then sprang forward, running through the snow, which was kicked up like geysers in the ground as he charged. Faking the fast biter out, he dove for the ground, sliding on his back and knocking into the sharptooth from underneath him. This caused the fast biter to fly forward into the air, planting its face roughly into the snowbanks as it was knocked onto its belly.
Royce rose up, panting as he brought his rock up above his head. "SAY GOODNIGHT!" With a great cry, he brought his "dagger" down upon the sharptooth, but his blow was halted in midair as the fast biter had twisted around and grasped Royce's weapon with his right foot. The movement had been so fast that Rinkus had barely perceived it, and the pink flyer could only gasp, his eyes widening at the spectacle.
Snarling, the black fast biter suddenly flexed his claws, and to Royce's horror, his "dagger" shattered into thousands of shards, the bits pelting his face and cutting his skin as he grunted and gasped in shock. "Impossible!" he said, backing away and dropping the fragment of his now useless weapon. A fast biter couldn't be that strong!
In a flash, the dark fast biter was upon him, grabbing him in a vice, and trapping him before he could so much as flinch. While Royce's whole body ached from his exertions, the sharptooth seemed to not even be breathing heavy. His rancid breath filtered over the domehead's face, and as Tyr and Rinkus watched, the fast biter brought Royce extremely close. "Embrace death" it whispered in his ear, and Royce's eyes widened.
"You can speak... GAAAGGGH!" before he could finish his sentence, an immense pain exploded in his chest, and he knew he'd been stabbed. Looking down as his body started convulsing, Royce could see blood spilling out of his chest, where the "talon" of the fast biter had impaled him.
"Oh blast! We gotta get out of here!" Tyr said, turning and almost tripping in the snow... but it was no good! Black scaled fast biters similar to the one that had killed Royce were all around them now, having appeared from seemingly nowhere. "Not possible!" Tyr said, his voice showing evident strain. "No one can sneak up on us like that!" Out of all the times he'd been out here, never once had he been taken by surprise. But here it was; they were all around him with snarling, flashing teeth and claws. Tyr crouched down, his tail at the ready as he growled, though fear was apparent in his eyes.
Rinkus whirled around, his heart racing as he realized he was trapped. But with Royce gone... he glanced hurriedly in the domehead's direction. Royce was on the ground now, motionless as his blood started staining the snow crimson around his prone form. Tyr was in his fighting stance, and Rinkus seized his chance. Spreading his wings the flyer took to the air, heart pounding as he beat his wings as fast he could. Must not look back! Just go!
"RINKUS!" Tyr roared out, only to have the most horrid screams Rinkus had ever heard in his entire life split the sky as Tyr was jumped from three sides at once. He hadn't stood a chance, and now it was too late. Rinkus flapped as fast as his wings could move, panic seizing him now as he attempted to put as much distance from himself and this cursed forest as could. The screams sounded in his ears, and chilled him to his core far more effectively than the air was capable of doing. The fast biters were shrieking victoriously, and turning their eyes to watch as the flyer soared off across the frozen wastes...